"In fact, one of the saddest but most common conditions in elementary school computer labs (when they exist in the developing world), is the children are being trained to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint," Mr Negroponte said.
"I consider that criminal, because children should be making things, communicating, exploring, sharing, not running office automation tools."
- Nicholas Negroponte, MIT's Media Lab
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
I really really agree with the comments. But what really really annoys me though, is that this cheap computer is/will be, touted as a means for the world's poor to bootstrap themselves out of poverty. It simply won't be happening. Those guys can't even afford a battery or a lightbulb, never mind paying $100 for a technology that for use requires the rare luxury of a basic education in literacy. These cheap computers will end up benefiting the third world's 'middle classes' who as always, can look after themselves. I remember Bill Gates starting out on this tack, airily talking of villages being kitted out with solar powered PCs and other such lunacies. Somewhere down the line Bill's gotten himself a good education on the subject of world poverty and now is pumping vast amounts of cash to where it matters, such as malaria prevention and cure. His products are still shit but I've now an enormous respect for his charitable work. Mr Negroponte needs a chat with Bill's advisers. john
-- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
One Laptop Per Child is an admirable project with lofty goals. I especially like the way Bill Gates pooh-poohs it every chance he gets (because he can't make a buck off of it). Steve Jobs (in a disingenuous move) offered to let them use OS X
--knowing full well it was spec'd as all open source.
The biggest problem, as I see it, is that the "world's poor" are almost 100% "governed" by tyrants who, in collusion with the scum who run the UN, steal most of the contributions (private or otherwise) before they ever reach the people.
We should burn the f...ing UN to the ground... get thee hence to France where you belong ;-)
Then start killing off the tyrants. Maybe get Eeyore while we're at it ;-)
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
Those $100 laptops will never get in the hands of the poor african kids, the warlords intercept even grain shipments there. Imagine what these laptops would be worth on the black market (no pun intended.)
I'd go for a whole hog 100%. This neck of the woods shows little interest in UN activities. Seems it's just a building somewhere in the US ... What we do have is a massive self serving charity 'industry'. A spokesperson for one large charity was recently tasked that only 5% of their aid reached it's intended recipients, 95% of it trousered by the local fat cats. His response was that this was acceptable as even 5% was better than nothing. Long term job security or what!. john
-- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...
When they dry off after swimming ashore they'll be job ready for the US market.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy
I agree with the principle of the UN. I totally disagree with it's implementation.
I also agree that all the money sent to many 'developing' countries is simply stolen. So let's stop sending it - people will die, of course, but in no greater numbers than now.
I also agree with the original post - I am amused that some kids think they can tell me 'all about computers', but can't figure out how to add two numbers in their head ;)
[Not to say some may know more - these simply think I am too old to understand them ;) ]Cheers
PeteS
-- And _way_ overtrained for Canada.
Bill gets no respect from me for stealing and conning people - giving away his ill-gotten millions does not make him a good person. It might make him slightly less bad than others who make meaninglessly large fortunes from illegally abusing the MS monopoly, but it doesn't make him good. And remember that many of his big contributions come with a catch - India was offered millions to fight AIDS to encourage greater adoption of non-pirated windows instead of looking closer at Linux. On the other hand, at least he is picking his targets with a total disregard for current Bush politics, which is nice.
I agree that little of the money that passes through the UN ends up in the hands that need it. What you are misunderstanding is the cause, and the cure. Take the Iraqi oil for food program, for example - very little of the oil money ended up serving the Iraqi people, while Saddam collected more than a fair share. The rest disappeared to various people and corporations around the world - 75% of it to the USA. The USA is the world leader in capitilism, and the world leader in squeezing money out of anyone and everyone. The USA is far from the only problem the UN has, but it is a very big part of it. What the UN needs is for the USA to realise it is part of the world, and to start supporting the UN instead of whining and winging about it. It should start by clamping down on the corruption on its own side - then it can start working *with* the UN instead of against it. The UN, and the world, would be a lot better off.
Only a half-wit thinks that killing off tyrants helps - look at your appalling track record. A country will only change when its people want it to change, and want it badly enough that they will fight for it themselves.
And how exactly do people under tyrantical rule change , professor?
Cite facts, please.
We're nowhere as capable of killing as we were in WWII. Soon as we relearn that skill we'll be back on top ;-)
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
The US is one of the least corrupt places on the planet. I have
*never* paid a bribe to anyone, and have never dealt with a public official who was much worse than simply incompetant.Offering people deals isn't "squeezing money" out of anyone; if you don't like our offer, find a better one somewhere else. The classic European colonial empires were the masters at extracting wealth involuntarily.
How is the US a problem to the UN?
John
What do you expect from Canada, John? After all, their "National Anthem" is Monty Python's, "I'm a lumberjack, and I'm OK".
-- Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I\'ve got my DD214 to prove it. Member of DAV #85. Michael A. Terrell Central Florida
I don't have an exact reference (I really should take a note of webpages and articles when I read them), and the numbers all vary according to how you count them. But I've found a few pages with similar comments:
"How is it that you stand on a moral footing to go after the U.N. when they're responsible for 15 percent maybe of the ill-gotten gains, and we were part and complicit of him getting 85 percent of the money?" Menendez asked.
(Of course, CNN is no doubt "leftist weenie" and therefore irrelevant.)
Staff from the Senate investigations committee presented documentary evidence that the Bush administration was made aware of illegal oil sales and kickbacks paid to the Saddam Hussein regime but could do nothing to stop them. The Senate report found that US oil purchases accounted for 52% of the kickbacks paid to the regime in return for sales of cheap oil - more than the rest of the world put together. However, the two countries to profit most from the program were allegedly France and Russia. These two countries were the strongest supporters of lifting UN-imposed sanctions against Iraq and were also against the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
I have not paid a bribe in my life either - in a lot messier and corrupt country than the US. And I also tend to think the US is a lot less corrupt than most of Europe - the fact is, EU companies were disallowed to deduce bribes they pay overseas from their taxes less than a decade ago, while this had been forbidden in the US ever since I cared. (Which is not to say I never had any problems originating in the US, but this is another, too niche specific story :-). However, this $100 notebook looks pretty much like fraud to me. Where do they get those sub-$100 SVGA TFT displays they use? I'd buy some myself. A pretty large group will be overpaid for years to develop what - what I (and not only I, for sure) could develop within a few months, probably with better results. Smells like fraud to me... (and the fact that it has the political media coverage does not help a lot... :-).
Dimiter
------------------------------------------------------ Dimiter Popoff Transgalactic Instruments
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John Lark> >
Sometimes by revolution (violent or peaceful), sometimes by the tyrant getting old and dying. I can't give you any solutions, but it's easy to find ideas that will fail, such as armed invasion by other countries with no understanding of the situation and a single goal of killing the tyrant. A power gap is seldom a good thing.
[snip]
Read more carefully... it was developed at MIT's Media Lab... cheap-pay grad students ;-)
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
[snip]
I think you have it backwards. The UN _obstructs_the_US_ at every opportunity, protecting tyrants throughout the world... particularly in Africa.
Now that the leftist-weenie-fairy-queers (aka Democrats) have bumped off John Bolton, the UN is now fully back to impotence ;-)
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
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